Living in an old style neighborhood with walkable commercial establishments, may save your life in the case of a natural disaster!
I heard this story on Morning Edition on my way to work the first day back from winter break. It stayed in my head but I didn't look it up until now. I think for University Heights the benefits of commercial property inside our city limits goes beyond our tax base.
Listen to the story from NPR
Read a transcript of the story
In summary Eric Klinneberg was able to quantitatively demonstrate how tight knit active neighborhoods were better able to survive natural disasters due to social connections.
New Yorker Magazine Link
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
January 2013 Council Meeting Summary
Dear Fellow U-Heights Residents,
Last night city council held their first meeting of the new year, here are a few highlights:Watch the WEBCAST OF THE MEETING HERE
For the full background on this proposal more details can be found here:
All new ordinances require three council approvals, so this will appear at the next two meetings as well.
2. Boards/Commissions/MVP's
Mayor Louise From announced appointments to the Board of Adjustment (Tom Breese, Rachel Stewart) and the Zoning Commission (Kris McLure, Larry Wilson). She also gave her annual MVP awards for citizen service to U-Heights in the past year. Winners were the Garden Club (Carol Ann & Scott Christianson, Eunice Hunzelman, Pat Yeggy) and council meeting videographer John McLure. You can read about their achievements here:
3. Sidewalk Shoveling
As our "January Thaw" allows residents to get out it's good to remember the U-Heights policy regarding shoveling sidewalks:
Council will hold its February meeting on 2/12/13 with the place yet to be determined. Besides a second reading of the speed limit ordinance there will be a discussion of proposals for the FY 2014 budget. Our budget must be approved by 3/15/13.
As always it is a great honor to serve as your city councilor, if you have any questions or comments I look forward to hearing from you.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
2012 Council Meeting Summaries Aug- Dec.
August Summary
Fellow U-Heights residents,
Council met last evening here are a few highlights:
Council met last evening here are a few highlights:
Sunset Street Wide Sidewalk
We voted on a design plan for the Sunset/Benton corner of the
Sunset wide sidewalk project. This was an issue that the city engineer and council had been considering since the spring. After input
at multiple meetings from property owners and other citizens the council voted 3-2 to proceed with a design
that will have the sidewalk narrowing to 6 feet wide around the corner and the city will work to acquire easements for an
expanded vision triangle at the corner. As the close vote would suggest, this
was not an easy decision for council to
make.
Council also accepted the master
tree plan for the project as well. This plan gives a comprehensive proposal for
which trees to keep, how to replace trees that will need to be removed for
construction, and bring a unified feeling to the street. After final bids for
the construction are accepted (late winter or early spring ’13 at the earliest)
we will see if the tree plan can be completed at once or if financially it
would be better to do it in stages. Tree plan can be found here.
Citizen Concerns Regarding Yards/Parking
Several councilors heard from multiple citizens in the past
month regarding the amount of yard that had been paved at a house on Olive Ct. City attorney, Steve Ballard, reported
that he has investigated the property and had held discussions with the owners
last spring prior to their work, when he was assured this would not happen. The city will follow up on this and take
action.
Future Meeting Locations
For the past several years, City Council has
met at Horn Elementary during the school year. Due to scheduling changes, this
site will no longer be available on 2nd Tuesdays as it has
been. Council will hold its
October 9th meeting at the University Club and is looking at
options from there. Council discussed
moving to other nights, or possibly looking at locations outside the city limits in Iowa City or
Coralville. No decision has yet been reached.
As always, if you have questions or comments regarding city issues I'm happy to talk with you.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
November Summary
Fellow U-Heights Residents,
The U-Heights City Council held their regular November meeting last
night at the University Club. Here is a summary of council action:
Video recording of meetings
John McLure, our volunteer videographer announced that this would
be the last meeting that he will be recording. Everyone present
thanked him for his service to the city. We will explore how we can continue to
bring meeting information to the citizens of U-Heights.
Speed Limits
Council was presented a map last night showing all current speed
limits in U-Heights. State law says that any street without a posted sign has a
speed limit of 25 MPH. We have a lot of streets with no signs. That map can be
found here:
Council will begin to consider a proposal in December that
establishes more consistency in our speed limits throughout town. Since
this would be an ordinance change it would require three approvals. All
residents will get a flyer with more information about the proposed changes, and
council looks forward to feedback from residents.
A short explanation of the guideline for speed limits would be:
· Arterial streets 25 MPH
(Melrose, South Sunset)
· Short dead end streets
10 MPH (these are also without sidewalks: Prospect, North Sunset, Mahaska cul
de sac)
· School Zone 20 MPH
(Oakcrest)
· Residential streets 20 MPH
(Nearly every other street. Most streets west of Sunset don’t have sidewalks)
The proposed map can be found here:
Proposed Pet Ordinance 181
Council on a 3-2 vote passed a second reading of ordinance 181
which amends ordinance 55. The major reason for the changes was that there was
no penalty for having animals at large. The specific issue was dealing with
dogs defecating on private property. The proposed ordinance would allow for a
$100 fine for anyone so charged. As part of the discussion amending this
ordinance there was a proposal to eliminate the language requiring cats to be
on a leash, so that was struck from the proposed ordinance. After the first
approval of the ordinance last month, I heard from a resident who had an off
leash cat get into his home. We heard last night from another resident who
pointed out that no other Johnson County town allows cats off leash. I did vote
“no” last night. As an ordinance is required to have three approvals before
passing, it will be on the December agenda as well. I would encourage anyone
with strong feelings either way to contact city councilors.
The proposed ordinance can be found here:
As always it is a pleasure to serve as your city councilor, any
questions or comments are appreciated.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview
December Summary
Fellow U-Heights residents,
City Council held its December meeting last night, here are a few highlights:
Sunset Street Wide Sidewalk
Council finalized purchase of 3 small parcels of land that will allow for construction of the sidewalk. (2 parcels at the Sunset/Benton corner and 1 at the Sunset/Melrose corner) This will allow for the project to be put out for bid in early 2013 with a construction window of late spring/summer 2013
Pet Ordinance 181
Council passed ordinance 181 updating ordinance 55 regarding pets.
Speed Limits
Council began to discuss a proposal to make most streets 20 MPH speed limits except for Melrose and Sunset at 25, and dead end streets at 10. I mentioned that I had heard from a resident who proposed that Koser, west of Sunset, should remain at 25 due to the fact that it has sidewalks on both sides, and is longer than most other streets. The bottom of Koser is a school zone which makes it 20 MPH from 8 AM to 5 PM. I would strongly encourage people to contact councilors/mayor with their thoughts. A FIRST reading of a proposed ordinance will likely occur at the January council meeting.
Good News
If you haven't seen it already, U-Heights resident Eleanor Marshall, now a freshman at Yale University, has a published piece in the "Yale Daily News Monthly" about growing up in Iowa. It is a wonderful read, and she does us all proud:
Full of Wide Open Spaces
And finally I'd like to wish you a happy and peaceful holiday season!
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
City Council held its December meeting last night, here are a few highlights:
Sunset Street Wide Sidewalk
Council finalized purchase of 3 small parcels of land that will allow for construction of the sidewalk. (2 parcels at the Sunset/Benton corner and 1 at the Sunset/Melrose corner) This will allow for the project to be put out for bid in early 2013 with a construction window of late spring/summer 2013
Pet Ordinance 181
Council passed ordinance 181 updating ordinance 55 regarding pets.
Speed Limits
Council began to discuss a proposal to make most streets 20 MPH speed limits except for Melrose and Sunset at 25, and dead end streets at 10. I mentioned that I had heard from a resident who proposed that Koser, west of Sunset, should remain at 25 due to the fact that it has sidewalks on both sides, and is longer than most other streets. The bottom of Koser is a school zone which makes it 20 MPH from 8 AM to 5 PM. I would strongly encourage people to contact councilors/mayor with their thoughts. A FIRST reading of a proposed ordinance will likely occur at the January council meeting.
Good News
If you haven't seen it already, U-Heights resident Eleanor Marshall, now a freshman at Yale University, has a published piece in the "Yale Daily News Monthly" about growing up in Iowa. It is a wonderful read, and she does us all proud:
Full of Wide Open Spaces
And finally I'd like to wish you a happy and peaceful holiday season!
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
2012 Council Meeting Summaries Apr- June
April Summary
Fellow U-Heights residents,
City Council had their regular April meeting
last night at the University Club. Here are a few highlights:
Sunset Wide Sidewalk- Council voted 4-1 to affirm their continued support of the project. The city engineer will work toward a winter 2012 bid letting date, with construction slated to likely start Spring/Summer of 2013. 80% of the project, up to a total of $218,000 will come from Federal grant money. The city's share is expected to be roughly $72,000.
Horn School Crossing Guard- Council voted 5-0 to support hiring an adult school crossing guard at Sunset/Oakcrest intersection for the 2012-13 school year. The City of Iowa City will continue to fund 3 crossing guards stationed along Benton Street. With the enlarged Horn School boundaries for next year approximately 120 students east of Sunset St. will be attending Horn. The yearly cost for a guard is $4,500.
University Heights Community Endowment- Michael Stoffregen, executive director of the Community Foundation of Johnson County, reported on the University Heights Community Endowment Fund. Established in 2007, this fund would be able to support community projects in U-Heights. Tax credits up to 25% are available through to the Endow Iowa Fund to donors. Citizens will receive more information about this worthwhile philanthropic program in the coming weeks.
Full agenda and attached reports can be found here:
April 10 Agenda & attachments
Upcoming Important Dates:
April 18th League of Women Voters Constitution Forum: “Immigration: America’s Mixed Message” Coralville Public Library 7:00 to 9:00 pm
April 28th City Cleanup Day- Dumpsters will be on Marietta at Highland. Look for a flyer this weekend. For more details here:
Community Cleanup Day
May 8th Monthly Council Meeting Horn Elementary Library, 7:00 PM
May 18th Bike to Work Week Breakfast- U-Heights will host a breakfast for bike commuters 6:30- 8:30 AMs
As always, it is a pleasure to serve the citizens of U-Heights. If you have any questions or are interested in more information on any topic please don't hesitate to contact me.
Sunset Wide Sidewalk- Council voted 4-1 to affirm their continued support of the project. The city engineer will work toward a winter 2012 bid letting date, with construction slated to likely start Spring/Summer of 2013. 80% of the project, up to a total of $218,000 will come from Federal grant money. The city's share is expected to be roughly $72,000.
Horn School Crossing Guard- Council voted 5-0 to support hiring an adult school crossing guard at Sunset/Oakcrest intersection for the 2012-13 school year. The City of Iowa City will continue to fund 3 crossing guards stationed along Benton Street. With the enlarged Horn School boundaries for next year approximately 120 students east of Sunset St. will be attending Horn. The yearly cost for a guard is $4,500.
University Heights Community Endowment- Michael Stoffregen, executive director of the Community Foundation of Johnson County, reported on the University Heights Community Endowment Fund. Established in 2007, this fund would be able to support community projects in U-Heights. Tax credits up to 25% are available through to the Endow Iowa Fund to donors. Citizens will receive more information about this worthwhile philanthropic program in the coming weeks.
Full agenda and attached reports can be found here:
April 10 Agenda & attachments
Upcoming Important Dates:
April 18th League of Women Voters Constitution Forum: “Immigration: America’s Mixed Message” Coralville Public Library 7:00 to 9:00 pm
April 28th City Cleanup Day- Dumpsters will be on Marietta at Highland. Look for a flyer this weekend. For more details here:
Community Cleanup Day
May 8th Monthly Council Meeting Horn Elementary Library, 7:00 PM
May 18th Bike to Work Week Breakfast- U-Heights will host a breakfast for bike commuters 6:30- 8:30 AMs
As always, it is a pleasure to serve the citizens of U-Heights. If you have any questions or are interested in more information on any topic please don't hesitate to contact me.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
May Summary
Fellow U-Heights
residents,
City Council met
last night at Horn Elementary School. Here is a brief summary of the meeting:
FY 2012 Budget Hearing- Per statute we amended
our FY12 Budget to reflect our actual receipts and expenditures for
the fiscal year, ending June 30th. The update shows
increased revenues of $87,216 but also increased expenditures of $110, 681. Our
projected year-end balance will drop accordingly to $60,779. Full information
can be found here: http://www.university-heights.org/Finance/index.html
Oaknoll Revenue Bonds- Council will
hold a public hearing at the regular June City Council meeting, June
12th, to consider issuing revenue bonds for Oaknoll Retirement
Center. The City has done this in the past, and while acting as a sponsor
of the bonds, it does not place the U-Heights under financial obligation.
University Heights
Community Fund- Council voted to commit $500 to the U-Heights
Community Fund. Donations currently are at $1,400, not counting the city’s
commitment, and when we reach $2,500 we will get a matching grant from the
Community Foundation of Johnson County.
More details about the
full meeting can be found here: http://www.university-heights.org/council/1112/Agendas/AgendaAttach120508.pdf
Upcoming Events:
May 10th 7-9 PM, Iowa City Public
Library League of Women Voters Constitution Series: The Affordable
Care Act, Is It Constitutional? Panel includes U-Heights resident,
Pete Damiano, director of the Public Policy Center at UI.
May 16th 6:30- 8:30 AM,
City Office 1004 Melrose, Bike to Work Week Breakfast hosted
by the City and Geoff’s Bike Shop. Stop by for cinnamon rolls, coffee and more.
June 8th City Wide
garage sale Residents can host garage sales at their own homes,
advertising will promote the event for everyone.
June 12th 7:00 PM Regular
June City Council Meeting, at St. Andrew Church.
Please reply back to me with any
questions or concerns.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
315 Golfview Ave.
June Summary
Fellow U-Heights residents,
Council met last night, it was a relatively short meeting (most likely because I wasn't there) Here is a summary of the meeting from guestwriter, councilor Jim Lane:
Council met last night, it was a relatively short meeting (most likely because I wasn't there) Here is a summary of the meeting from guestwriter, councilor Jim Lane:
The University Heights City Council:
· Approved Oaknoll's
request to issue tax exempt revenue bonds for their upcoming expansion. They
plan to add 73 new units at their current site. Construction is expected to
begin January, 2013 and be completed by June, 2015. University Heights is not
responsible for payment of these bonds and is serving as a
"conduit" to enable Oaknoll to obtain part of their financing with
tax exempt bonds.
· The Council approved the
replacement of concrete street panels on Melrose Ave. in front of the city
office. This work will be done this summer along with other replacements on
Sunset Street.
· The Council reviewed
additional proposals for the Sunset/Benton Northwest Corner revision as part of
the Sunset Wide Sidewalk project. These proposals were made to enhance the
width of the sidewalk at this corner, to improve the line of vision for motorists
and add fencing for the residents.. City engineer and some council members will meet with
affected residents to discuss proposed changes before Council makes any
changes.
· The Council formally
announced receiving designation as "A Bicycle Friendly Community
The full agenda and attached reports can be viewed here: June 12 Council Meeting Agenda
& attachments
Upcoming Dates:
July 10th City Council meeting- St. Andrew Church
September 9th Annual City picnic
As always, any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reply.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
Upcoming Dates:
July 10th City Council meeting- St. Andrew Church
September 9th Annual City picnic
As always, any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reply.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
2012 Council Meetings Summaries Jan- Mar.
Since
there really isn't regular media coverage of University Heights council
meetings, in January 2012, I started sending brief summaries to anyone who
wanted them. Here are those summaries from 2012. I'll continue to also publish
2013 updates here also. Anyone who
wishes to receive these as an email may do so by sending a request to me at mikehaverkamp1960@gmail.com
January
2012
Fellow residents,
The U-H city council held its first meeting of the year last night. Members were sworn in at our orientation earlier in the evening. Mayor Louise From announced city department assignments:
Finance- Jim Lane
Building/Zoning/Sanitation- Brennan McGrath
Streets & Sidewalks- Jan Leff
Community Protection- Rosanne Hopson, chair, Mike Haverkamp, member
eGovernment- Mike Haverkamp
In business we voted to uphold the city housing inspector's decision regarding over occupancy of a rental house. Brennan McGrath made a motion that the landlord would face the over occupancy fine if the house is over occupied after Tuesday, January 17th. Jim Lane made an amendment to allow the extra tenants until February 1st to relocate, which I supported, but that was defeated on a 3-2 vote. We did then both vote to uphold the main motion which passed 5-0.
Brief tidbits:
Thursday Jan. 12th from 5:30 to 7:30 will be the Horn Elementary Dance Marathon Fundraiser. The theme is "Hoedown" Food will be served and fun will be had! All residents are welcome to stop by.
Did you miss getting your Christmas tree put out on the curb the last two weeks? Johnson County Refuse WILL pick up any trees next Tuesday, January 17th.
The council's next regular meeting will be on Feb. 14th. At that meeting we will be discussing the 2013 Fiscal Year budget, despite the date it will be important! By state law we must pass our budget and submit it to the state by March 15th.
I will send an email in the coming weeks once the city website updates are completed. If you have suggestions for information to include on the page, please let me know.
The video stream of last night's meeting will soon be available online as well as rebroadcast on cable TV. I'll include those dates when they are known.
Sincerely,
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
The U-H city council held its first meeting of the year last night. Members were sworn in at our orientation earlier in the evening. Mayor Louise From announced city department assignments:
Finance- Jim Lane
Building/Zoning/Sanitation- Brennan McGrath
Streets & Sidewalks- Jan Leff
Community Protection- Rosanne Hopson, chair, Mike Haverkamp, member
eGovernment- Mike Haverkamp
In business we voted to uphold the city housing inspector's decision regarding over occupancy of a rental house. Brennan McGrath made a motion that the landlord would face the over occupancy fine if the house is over occupied after Tuesday, January 17th. Jim Lane made an amendment to allow the extra tenants until February 1st to relocate, which I supported, but that was defeated on a 3-2 vote. We did then both vote to uphold the main motion which passed 5-0.
Brief tidbits:
Thursday Jan. 12th from 5:30 to 7:30 will be the Horn Elementary Dance Marathon Fundraiser. The theme is "Hoedown" Food will be served and fun will be had! All residents are welcome to stop by.
Did you miss getting your Christmas tree put out on the curb the last two weeks? Johnson County Refuse WILL pick up any trees next Tuesday, January 17th.
The council's next regular meeting will be on Feb. 14th. At that meeting we will be discussing the 2013 Fiscal Year budget, despite the date it will be important! By state law we must pass our budget and submit it to the state by March 15th.
I will send an email in the coming weeks once the city website updates are completed. If you have suggestions for information to include on the page, please let me know.
The video stream of last night's meeting will soon be available online as well as rebroadcast on cable TV. I'll include those dates when they are known.
Sincerely,
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
February 2012
Fellow U-Heights residents,
City Council had their regular February meeting last night
at Horn Elementary. Here are a few highlights:
FY13 Budget- Council began the process of setting the
2013 budget. By statute we must have a final budget approved by March 15, 2012.
The budget year begins July 1, 2012. There will be a public hearing on
the 2012 budget at 7:00 PM Tuesday March 13, 2012 in Fellowship Hall of
the St. Andrew Church. To see preliminary budget proposals go to the
U-Heights Finance Committee webpage. The budget listed there will be updated in the next few
days to reflect last night’s discussions.
Sunset Street wide sidewalk- We received the initial
plans for the Sunset wide sidewalk but didn’t go into any detail at the meeting
due to a motion being proposed that would terminate the project. After
discussion that motion was pulled in favor of a motion stating the council would suspend current
progress on the project. That motion passed. Council also directed the Mayor
to schedule a public information session so that sidewalk plans could be
presented to interested residents. That meeting should be scheduled sometime in
the next 6 weeks. Notice will be published on the U-Heights website. I will
send an email to all of you as well.
I strongly support the sidewalk project. We currently have a
funding grant to cover 80% of the project costs up to a total of $213,000. It
is predicted that our portion would be in the neighborhood $65,000- $90,000. If
we terminate the project the City will have to pay for all work done to date.
Those costs are approximately $17,000. To see project plans and a timeline go
to the Streets & Sidewalks Committee webpage.
Johnson County Animal Shelter- The council unanimously
declined to support the request to participate in the planned Johnson County
Animal Shelter. If we had done so we would be responsible for a construction
assessment of $10,833 due in FY14 and $2790 in yearly operating expenses after
that. U-H residents brought a total of 4 animals to the shelter in 2011. Council is interested in
exploring ties to the Cedar Valley Humane Society’s shelter.
Next Council meeting:
Tuesday March 13, 7:00 PM, St. Andrew Fellowship Hall, 1300
Melrose Ave.
As always it is a pleasure to serve as your representative, if
you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave.
315 Golfview Ave.
March 2012
Fellow
U-Heights residents,
Reminder: Please attend the Sunset Sidewalk
project informational meeting on
Tuesday, March 20th 7:00 pm,
University Club 1360 Melrose Ave.
for more information about the project go to:
Here are a few highlights from tonight’s meeting:
Council adopted the FY2013 budget. We now will
submit it to the Iowa Department of Management for
certification prior to the March 15,
2012 deadline. Our fiscal year will start on July 1, 2012. A summary of the
adopted budget is here:
The other major item of discussion was U-Heights support for
the Johnson County Animal Shelter. We were able to come to a compromise by
agreeing to support the shelter in a similar manner to that already proposed by
the City of Coralville.
Finally, citizens who have Mediacom cable TV can now watch
U-Heights City Council meetings at
your own convenience thanks to Iowa City Cable’s InfoVision. Just tune your TV
to Channel 5, and dial 356-5478 on your touchtone phone. You then can use your
PHONE to navigate to U-Heights council meetings
and view them. For step by step directions:
If there is any questions you have, or are interested in more information, please don't hesitate to contact me.
-Mike Haverkamp
315 Golfview Ave
315 Golfview Ave
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